Holman Wiggins was hired in December 2011 to serve as wide receivers coach for the Tigers. He spent the 2011 season coaching running backs at Tulsa, helping the Golden Hurricane to an 8-4 overall record and a 7-1 mark in Conference USA. Wiggins guided a trio of Tulsa running backs - Ja'Terian Douglas, Trey Watts and Alex Singleton - who combined to rush for 2,006 yards and 15 touchdowns. Douglas was a second-team All-C-USA selection, while Watts earned honorable mention merits. In addition, H-back Willie Carter, who led Tulsa in receiving with 868 yards and seven touchdowns, was a second-team All-C-USA honoree. Fuente and Wiggins worked together during part of Wiggins' five-year stint (2006-2010) at Illinois State. Wiggins coached running backs at ISU, and guided the Redbirds to a 9-4 record in his first year at the school, including a Football Championship Series quarterfinal appearance and a No. 8 national ranking. Illinois State averaged 169 yards per game during 2006, and Pierre Rembert rushed for a school-record 1,743 yards, receiving All-America accolades by the Associated Press. In his next season, Wiggins guided the Redbirds to an average of 199 yards per game on the ground while two running backs combined for 1,742 of the Redbirds' 2,194 rushing yards. For the first time in school history, three running backs rushed for more than 100 yards apiece in a single game against Indiana State. The 2008 season saw Illinois State total 197 yards per game while three running backs carried the load for the Redbirds, totaling 1,911 yards of ISU's 2,169 total rushing yards. After averaging just 98 rushing yards in 2009, Illinois State jumped to over 130 yards rushing per game in 2010. Before joining the staff at ISU, Wiggins was a student assistant for two seasons and a graduate assistant for one year at his alma mater New Mexico. He worked primarily with running backs while in his role as a student assistant before focusing more on quarterbacks and wide receivers during his one year as a graduate assistant. Wiggins was a four-year letterwinner and three-year starter at running back for the New Mexico Lobos (1998-2001). He finished his collegiate career with 1,833 yards on the ground, the 14th-most in school history. He remains the Lobos' single-season leader in punt returns (46) and punt return yardage (392), both set in 2000, and ranks 12th all-time in school history in all-purpose yards with 2,912 yards. He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from New Mexico in 2003 and started work on his master's degree in counseling and child psychology. A native of Los Angeles, Wiggins played his prep football at San Pedro High School, while being named the city's Player of the Year for Class 4A. Wiggins and his wife, Dominique, have four daughters: Justyce, Karyn, Brooklyn and Journye. |
Memphis Tigers
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